Pissing Metals
Pissing Metals is a short story included as part of TSFIA. Summary 30 seconds till arrival at the beachhead, 30 more seconds till the darkness can be split and his sensors can once again see using the light of day. 30 seconds, a seemingly lifetime-long process of feeling his weight sinking into the ocean floor, to feel the tingling feeling in his fingers as he griped the control stick tighter before relaxing; an eternity spent telling himself to fret not, to relax, to focus, the smallest lapse of judgments in what he is about to do could cost him his life, or worse. Internal motors and fans automatically whirled to life, to begin the purging of all excess water, and flooding the weapon tubes and barrels. It is time----------His fingers primed over the trigger as the view before him became one of pure white sunlight. "All units, shift to combat mode! ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE!!" April 10th, 2003, local time 0842 hours. 12 A-6J Wadatsumi of the Imperial Japanese Marine Corp "Stingray" Squadron, along with hundreds of other beach assault units under the command of the UN joint task force, stepped onto the beach of Incheon at precisely H hour minus zero. Three seconds later, a torrents of death and destruction erupted forth, cutting into the BETA horde. 12 barrels of 36mm fired in unison on each Wadatsumi as they advanced. Ocean water flowed from their towering figures to the ground like waterfalls, while their ponderous steps creating meter-deep foot prints on the sandy beach as they strode forward, guns blazing, to meet their foe. Each and every A-6 on this beachhead fought with all its worth, they fired and fired, and then fired some more... At this time, Stingray 1, Captain Yazawa Seiji's eyes darted frantically between the crosshairs of his guns and the data-link indicator. "Fleet wide data-link re-established. All units prioritize your assigned targets! Do not overlap and interlock your arcs of fire with each other yet! We need to conserve our ammo!" "----Understood!" With a proud acknowledgment of his marines, the Stingrays's fire came alive with a sense of purpose as they targeted and methodically serviced the most strategically valuable BETA in their line of fire. To secure a beachhead ahead of the main force and eliminate the laser class that survived the initial orbital and naval bombardments are the highest priority of the first wave of attackers. The seemingly random wall of fire they are throwing up are being carefully monitored and directed as needed by the squadron's command and control operators back on their mother ships, all this to insure that the BETA on the beachhead are gunned down with ruthless efficiency in the order of the threat they pose. "Humanity has arrived, Humanity has finally arrived to take back what is rightfully ours!" From where he is, Captain Yazawa can see off in the distance the grotesque shape of the Hive Monument. Suppressing the shaking he felt in his chest, he squeezed his trigger harder. Even with the sophisticated recoil dampening and noise cancelling technology build into the cockpit, the thunderous boom and recoil of his Wadatsumi are still violent enough that Capatain Yazawa felt as if it shook his very soul---just the way he liked it. Now, on the opening act of this historical moment. He can feel it, the wishes of all those who came before him, the ones now lost to the skies and beyond, those who are now buried deep beneath the ocean tides, and those who now sleep beneath these very grounds. Their long-cherished hopes and dream are about to become one step closer to realization. Armed with 12 36mm chain guns and 2 120mm smoothbore cannons, the heavily armed and armored A-6J cannot rely on its speed and mobility to protect itself above water, thus it requires a pilot with a very different set of skills and mentality to truly make the A-6 shine on the battlefield. In this case, the ability and mental discipline to "see" the battlefield in front of them and quickly identify targets that pose the biggest threat, eliminate the target and move on to the next target, while still conserving ammo as to not be wasteful. Also, the weapons seen carried by the A-6J are not the only weapons available to them on this battlefield. On the corner of Captain Yazawa's HUD radar, a large of group of blinking red dots demanded his attention. "Attention, all Stingray units! This is Stingray 1. I've confirmed a battalion-size Destroyer class horde incoming, distance 7km. Confirm through your own individual carrier submarine sensor operators and request support fire." Even between giving orders and commands to his troops, the captain 's fingers never left the trigger and continues to engage with an cold efficiency. Soon, he contacts his own mothership. "Stingray 1 to Olsinas 1, like you heard, I request that all carrier submarine units to ascend to attack depth and slave the control of all its weapons to my Squadron." Through the holes opened up in the BETA lines by their 120mm fire, the charging Destroyer class can be visually seen now. On the edge of his sensor display, a more familiar presence have been detected. "Magnus Lux... They have come..." No, not yet, it is not time. Taking a deep breath, Captain Yazawa selected and marked a series of priority targets and their location on his map for all to see. A breath later, from Stingray 1's mother ship, the command ship of all Stingray elements and their carrier submarines, Olsinas 1, the powerful voice of Captain Ota Chihaya boomed in Yazawa s ears. "Olsina carrier submarine group leader to all Stingray units. All my submarines are now at attack depth, prepare yourselves". Hundreds of meters behind the A-6Js, the ocean surface shifted and numerous blackened shapes can be seen moving underwater. "Olsinas 1 to Stingray 1, I confirm your request, all our weapons are at your command----pulverize those bastards!!" The Destroyers approaches ever so closer. All Stingray units have their crosshairs trained on the charging horde. In a battle against the hardened frontal amour of the Destroyer class, when forced to engage from the front, superior firepower and maximum effective range to allow for penetration is necessary, biding their time, the Stingrays waited for the BETA to get into optimum range, as their hearts raced and sweats formed, all now waiting for the one moment. "FIRE!!!!!!" All 120mm on the A-6Js opened up, behind them bright flames and smoke trails broke through the ocean surface. The carrier submarines have unleashed the fury of all its VLS launchers, their deadly payload of cluster missiles racing towards its intended targets.. "Distance 300m! Keep up the pressure!" Flying low, the missiles passed over the head of the Wadatsumis and plunged into the midst of the charging Destoryers. At the same time, an unending stream of 36mm fire kept the other BETA classes at bay. Such is the true might of an A-6 equipped squadron working in tandem with the fire support from their mother ships, that no BETA have come closer within 200m of the landing force. However at that moment, a second type of laser warning flashed in to their HUD. "Laser Warning! Numerous Lux class signature detected among the horde to our left!" Stingray 5's frantic voice came on the net. Indeed, the small Lux class seems to have stayed hidden and mixed in with a another group of BETA coming from their northwest, within minutes the A-6s on this portion of the beachhead would be in range for them to fire on. Missiles from the Submarines began to change their trajectory targeting the Lux, hoping to overwhelm and at least thin their numbers. "It does not matter!" In the likely event that the missiles do not solve the Lux threat, for the slow and cumbersome Wadatsumi, there would be no escape. In such a case, their only two options would be to fall back into the ocean or to... "Stingray 1 to all units, weapons free, engage at will and your own discretion! The Imperial Marine Corps does not retreat! They shall pay dearly in blood for every single inch of this ground!" "YES SIR!!" April 10th ,2003, local time 0904. The Imperial Marine Tactical Assault Squadron, "Stingray", along with many others like them of this UN task force secured the beachhead at Incheon, after coming into direct contact with Lux and Magnus Lux classes, and eliminated them. Despite heavy casualties suffered all along the beachhead, their noble sacrifices ensured a solid foundation for what is to come. Thus began what would be remembered as the 5th successful Hive assault in human history. the Assault on Objective 20 Cheorwon Hive: Operation "Sledgehammer". Category:TSFIA